Our past together Chapter four - Revelations change everything
by agssaamor
Summary: It was not easy but Shang overcame his mother's death; but what happened to him when another woman's death made him find out the truth behind Wang's death? I hope you like this chapter I worked really hard on it and sorry for the delay to post it.


**Chapter** **four.**

Three months has passed since Wang's death, and her son, Li Shang, still thinks about his mother every day, but now can think about her without cry, not like during the first two weeks after this tragedy.

_Flashback._

_During the first two weeks after his mother's death, Shang would wake up crying silently in the morning and in the evening he would also cry silently until sleep._ _He was barely getting out of the room, didn't even get out of bed. He would leave the room just to take a shower and nothing else; he could spend a whole day without eating nothing or drinking water, his father and Jia were very worried, they were still sad, but they were already moving on and overcoming what had happened._

"_I know that children take longer to overcome this kind of event, but if he continues in this situation he will get sick." Jia said to General Li as she sat at table._

"_He is not a little boy anymore, I must talk to him, he will feel better if I support him." General Li said as he got up and turned toward the stairs of their new house, but Jia grabbed him by the wrist as if telling him to hear what she had to say._

"_What's wrong Jia?" General Li asked and looked at Jia confused._

"_You're right about talking to him Master, but remember to be patient with him, with his mother's brutal death, Shang also loosed his innocence." The middle-aged-maid said with her head down._

_Hearing this made General Li feel even worse, his son needed help, and he would do everything possible and impossible to make his son feel better._

"_I know it… wait me here, if everything goes right, he'll get out of that room." General Li said as walked toward the stairs without look back._

"_Good lucky Sir, you'll need…" Jia muttered but General Li didn't hear anything; he just climbed the stairs hoping his son was fine._

_The new house where Shang, his father and Jia lived now had six rooms on the second floor; but three of these rooms would not be occupied until the family grew; in other words: until Shang married a woman and had children._

_General Li walked toward Shang's bedroom; he took a deep breath before knocking the door and asking if he could enter the room._

"_You may come in." Shang said to his father, who was surprised of not hear sadness in his voice. General Li entered the room and saw something that shocked him._

_His son was with a woeful appearance: His hair was a mess, his skin was pale, he had dark circles around his eyes and now that he was shirtless, his father could see how thinner he had got for not eating properly. Shang looked like a sick person, and actually, he would get sick if he didn't take care of himself._

"_Is everything okay father?" The eleven-year-old boy asked with a null expression on his face, but his voice was as weak as his appearance. General Li was horrified of his son's weak appearance. It took him a moment to be able to answer Shang's question._

"_No son; nothing is okay, because you're not okay." General Li said holding his son's face with his hands, forcing him to look at his eyes. _

"_How could I be okay?" Shang replied and frowned as his face expression changed to angry. General Li got a bit annoyed at the affront his son made, but even more surprised that he was not crying and was talking to him rationally._

"_Have you looked at the mirror today?" General Li asked, hoping that his son knew how he was looking._

"_No and I don't need." Shang said as he turned back. _

_Suddenly, General Li grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed Shang toward a large mirror he had in his bedroom._

"_Son, if you go on like this you will starve to death! You're already looking like someone with a terminal illness; please, I'm really worried about you, I want to… I want to see you smile again, I want back my son, Li Shang." General Li said while he looked at his son's reflection in the mirror._

"_Sorry father! I didn't mean to worry you." Shang said as he threw his arms around his father "I'll move on, I won't let you down… I will make you proud!"_

"_Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear." General Li said as he stroke his son's head._

_Shang looked up at his father; now he had a smile on his face; he promised not just to his father, but to himself he would move on and grow up to be a man._

_Jia was waiting for General Li and Shang for about an hour; she got surprised, but even more than that, happy, when she saw both coming down the stairs._

_Even though the eleven-year-old boy was still looking weak, He was with a smile on his face; now everything was going to turn back to normal._

_End Flashback._

Three months have passed, Shang was at the school; it was time for all the students to go back to their homes, but he always stayed a bit more time, so he could study more and understand everything.

"Help here!" Shang heard someone screaming; the voice seemed to come from the street in front of the school, so he ran toward the open window in the classroom and looked down. There was a riot with several boys and even some girls, but wasn't possible to see exactly what was going on.

He quickly ran out of the school and asked to a boy who looked eight years old what was happening.

"A duo of boys started humiliating a boy in my class saying he's weak and ugly, but after hearing that, he said 'At least I'm smart and don't bother people.' They got mad and are hitting him so far! And we are afraid to intervene because they will try to beat up anyone who challenges them." The little boy said to Shang.

He passed the other children and was shocked to see how the boy who was being beaten was hurt. Shang walked toward one of the boys, because he just saw one of them, and said that both were cowards for beating someone weaker.

"Oh, what a surprise, it's the perfect boy of our class trying to protect the defenseless." The delinquent spoke in an arrogant tone.

"Let him alone, why don't you and your friend stop wasting time being stupid? Go live your own life and stop bothering the others." Shang said with his hands on his waist in an imposing tone.

"Neither do I and my friend have to obey you." The boy answered approaching him.

"I'm not demanding, I'm advising you two; if you don't stop, I'll make you lea… Ah!" Shang didn't finish talking, because the other boy behind him hit his head with a stick; what almost made him pass out and he fell to his knees on the floor.

"It seems that the general's son is not strong enough to face us…" Said the boy who hit him in the head from behind. Shang was knelt and with his head down; he was waiting to hear the insults these boys would say, so he would have a reason to fight them.

"What a shame... it looks like you is going to disappoint your dad!" The boy who was in front of him said while with a mean smile on his face. Shang didn't look up but this comment filled his entire body with anger, he would be able to do everything possible and impossible to make his father proud and this boy had the audacity to say that he would let him down?!

"You're just the best in the classroom, but you won't ever be a great warrior like your father! You're not good enough for it!" The boy who was behind Shang said it and after laughed hysterically.

That surpassed all the limits of humanity's evil. Shang stood up and turned around to look at the wretch who said that. He was with an expression of "I'll hit you two so much that you won't be able to walk anymore" on his face.

Shang slowly approached the boy taking heavy steps until he was very close to the boy who was a little shorter than him. "You shouldn't have said this." Shang said with an imposing voice.

The delinquent boy didn't seem to be the least bit scared of it. "What will you do? Will you use your moral speeches?" He said smiling but before he could do something, Shang grabbed him by the collar with his hands and looked in the boy's eyes very close to his face. The boy tried to get away but he couldn't.

"Look into my eyes when I talk to you!" Shang said very loud as he threw the boy backwards and he almost fell. "I thought you were going to face me; Coward!" Shang added approaching him with a very angry face.

Suddenly, he jumped high and kicked the boy in the side of the face with all his might; the blow was so strong that he was thrown against a wagon, and stayed there, groaning in pain with his hands on his head. No one of the kids helped him, why should they help a boy who liked to beat people?

"You idiot! You'll pay for that!" The other boy cried out as he ran toward Shang. The eleven-year-old boy just looked back and got punched very bad on his face. But he didn't fall, didn't even move. He looked at the boy who had punch him with no expression on his face, but his cheek was red and blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Then, in a fraction of seconds, Shang's facial expression changed to one of anger and he punched the delinquent in the stomach with all his speed and might. The boy took a few steps back; he put one hand on his belly and the other covering his mouth, as if he was feeling very bad.

Then, Shang threw himself on the boy and started punching him on his face while he screamed things like "This is for beating someone weaker than you! That's because you said I'm not good enough! That's for mentioning my dad in this fight! And that's for each one that you have already hurt!"

After "teaching a lesson" to those boys in front of several other children, Shang helped the little boy who had been beaten up by the duo of troublemakers to get up.

"Stop making trouble and go home! Bunch of jerks!" Shang said as he took his purse and left for home. All the kids started shouting cheers and clapping as he walked away without looking back; but he was smiling, it was gratifying to help someone and hit idiots, even if he was hurt.

When he arrived home and explained to his father why his cheek was swollen, at first his father reprimanded him for beating the boys so fiercely; but then praised him for protecting the other children from that delinquent boys and avenging those they assaulted, General Li didn't mentioned it, but this was proof that Shang's reflexes and strength were far superior to his age. It was for reasons like these that he was considered a prodigy.

When General Li was talking with Shang about the fighting techniques he had used; Jia came into the room where they were; she was there to sweep the floor, but when she saw the bruise on the eleven-year-old boy's face, her eyes widened and she threw the broom on the floor and quickly went to him look how much injured he was.

"Young master, are you ok?!" Jia asked worried holding his face with one of her hands and brushing back his bangs from his face with the other.

"Jia, I'm not a little boy anymore! I'm eleven-years-old! I can stand a punch on my face!" Shang said in an annoyed tone and taking Jia's hands from his face.

"Yes Jia, He's a strong boy, with a better training, will become a great warrior when he gets older." General Li said, calm as always.

"Which training? Don't you already teach me fighting techniques every day father?" Shang asked confused.

"That's not what I meant, when you turn fourteen you will be enrolled in the best military training academy money can afford and you'll probably graduate when you are eighteen. There you will hone your martial arts techniques; will study other languages and the history of our nation; learn to read maps; learn combat techniques; how to use swords, bows and other weapons; and much more..." General Li explained in a serious tone, he thought that Shang would be angry with him for planning his future without asking what he thought, but he had great potential to be a warrior and that potential could not be missed.

But his reaction was quite different; when General Li looked at his son, he was smiling very cheerfully; luckily Shang admired his father very much and wanted to be a military man like him.

"That's so awesome!" Shang exclaimed as he stood and raised his arms, as if celebrating something. General Li just smiled, seeing how his son was rapidly changing from boy to man.

Jia sighed and put his hand on Shang's face, over the bruise on his cheek. "Just be careful not to hurt your beautiful face because you have been blessed by nature." She said while rubbed his face.

"Can you stop? This hurts." Shang asked ironically as he took Jia's hand from his face.

"Sorry young master." The middle-aged maid said as she took a few steps back.

But this conversation ended with the three of them laughing out loud and commenting how the delinquent boy duo would never hit anyone for no reason.

_**One year later…**_

_In the imperial palace… _

The imperial family was living a happy and luxurious life in the beautiful palace; Emperor Dim Sum lived there with his wife Empress Dim Xanadu and his three daughters, the three princesses: Ting-Ting, the eldest princess; Mei, the middle princess; and Su, the youngest princess.

The empress had a very overprotective personality with her daughters but at the same time, she had a free spirit and was known to be very benevolent with her subjects; just like the emperor.

Empress Xanadu was in her early fifties, she had an undeniable beauty for her age even with her gray hair with white locks, and the way she dressed exalted it even more. She always wore necklaces, earrings, bracelets and crowns made with the finest jewelry, the purest pearls and the brightest gold and silver. Not to mention she wore magnificent and carefully crafted dresses. All the clothes she wore and the jewelry she wore to adorn her appearance cost a fortune.

Although the empress came from a rich and noble family, she was not born into an imperial family, so she missed walking around the city and talking to people; because sometimes all she and her daughters wanted was to be in a place without everyone knowing who they were and interacting with them without unnecessary formalities.

Even though the three princesses never had a day to be normal girls, they were curious what it was like to wander around the city without being escorted by several guards and without their subjects bowing to them.

But Empress Xanadu knew that the emperor loved her very much and any request she made would be granted; so if she insisted on leaving the palace for a day, he would allow it.

So one morning she went to the throne room to talk to her husband, the Emperor Dim Sum was talking to his advisor Chi Fu; they were talking about state affairs.

"Good morning graceful imperial majesty." Chi Fu said as he bowed in respect to the Empress.

"Good morning Chi Fu, I hope you are having a good day." Empress Xanadu said as she passed by the Imperial Advisor and went to her husband.

"How is your day my dear Empress?" The Emperor asked as he took his wife's hand and kissed it.

"My day is perfect, my dear Emperor; can I talk somewhere more reserved with you?" Xanadu asked to her husband.

"Sure, just a moment…" The Emperor answered as he motioned for her to wait a moment "…Chi Fu!"

"Yes your majesty?" Chi Fu asked holding his brush and clipboard as if he were waiting to write something.

"Wait for me here, the Empress and I will come back in a few minutes." Emperor Dim Sum said as he and the Empress Xanadu left the room holding hands.

"Yes your majesty." The emperor advisor said as he bowed to the Imperial rulers whom he served.

When the Emperor and the Empress were alone in a palace corridor where there was no one besides them, she told her husband what she wanted to do with her daughters; while she explained that, she was talking very close to the Emperor with her big eyes looking at him with a cute expression on her face, as if she was begging his permission.

"I don't think that's a good idea; could be dangerous you four go walk through the city without the protection of anyone. Outside that, if nobody knows who you are, it would be much easier for someone to importune you." The Emperor said as he crossed his arms.

"Please my dear husband, I miss having freedom to go out in public without bodyguards; and I want our three little princesses to know how this feels." Empress Xanadu said it with a very sweet voice; she would spoke like that every time she had to convince her husband to agree with her, and most of times that would work, but she also loved him unconditionally.

Emperor Dim Sum just sighed "Okay, you four can go ..."

"Really?!" She asked excited.

"HOWEVER… there two conditions you have to obey if you really want to go outside."

"Which conditions?" Empress asked as she arched an eyebrow.

"You must take at least one guard to protect you in the city, you can choose whoever you want."

"Well, at least one guard is more discreet than fifteen guards."

"And you should go wearing clothes that show you are from the Imperial family."

"Thank you very much! I will warn the girls that they will have a very different day than usual; See you at night, my Emperor." Right after the Empress said that, she turned around and walked to the end of the hall and into a room that had large red doors; it was the three princesses' room.

The Emperor was also overprotective with his daughters and his wife, so they would always go out the palace with him and escorted by at least ten guards; what's wrong with them feeling freer for a day? Little did the emperor know that he would bitterly regret making that decision…

Less than one hour after telling Ting-Ting, Mei and Su where they were going that day, Empress Xanadu and her three daughters were already dressed in her bright silk dresses and with their hair perfectly styled, but the Empress was the only between them four who was wearing jewels, the princesses didn't like to use too much accessories.

Before going out of the palace, The Empress selected a young soldier who was at the palace to talk with a General, to escort her and her three daughters through the city. The man must have been in his early twenties, he was tall and slim, he had a scar that passed over his nose and down to his cheek, and he was wearing an elegant armor and carried a very long-bladed sword carefully concealed in its sheath. Empress Xanadu paid a good amount of money for the soldier to perform this service.

They got into a small carriage and the soldier tied the horse to the reins to pull the carriage into town and they arrived in the nearest city like one hour later.

They left the carriage hidden in a corner early in the city and walked normally through the city, but the princess and the Empress were feeling a bit uncomfortable because didn't matter where they passed; everyone even the kids and elders would bend to them.

Then the Empress saw a square with kids playing and women talking, so she went there with Ting-Ting, Mei and Su to enjoy the day like normal people; of course with the young soldier right behind them.

The three princesses started playing hide and seek at the square, the other kids didn't approached them, probably they thought that humble peasants could not talk to imperial princesses, although they wanted to interact with other children, but besides there was a guard with sword watching everyone who were around the princesses. But that didn't matter; the three sisters could have fun together as they always did.

Ting-Ting was fourteen-years-old and just like we see in the second movie; her favorite color was purple and she was most responsible among her sisters for being the oldest, but not so serious like in the movie so she played and liked to dance with her young sisters. And unlike in the second movie, she wore her hair tied with two purple ribbons in two low ponytails.

Mei, the middle daughter, was ten-years-old and just like we see in the second movie; her favorite color was pink and she was a bit more shy than she would be in the second movie and felt more comfortable with people she knew, but because of her age she was even more dreamer then we got to see in the movie. Unlike in the second movie, she wore her hair tied with a pink ribbon in a low bun and her hair had straight bangs at her eyebrows length.

And Su, was the youngest daughter, was eight-year-old and just like we see in the second movie; her favorite color was yellow, she was so cute you would want to pinch her cheeks. Just like we got to see in the movie, she loved to eat candy and even though princesses had to keep fit, she always found a way to steal candy from the palace kitchen. Unlike in the second movie, she wore her hair tied with two yellow ribbons in two high ponytails.

While her three daughters played, Empress Xanadu went to a woman and tried to casually talk to her.

"Uh… Hello, what's your name?" The Empress touched the woman in her shoulder trying to get her attention, but she didn't know how to start a dialogue without formalities.

The woman turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of The Empress of China in front of her, dressed in a beautiful yellow dress, with her hair in a high bun and wearing a crown made of gold and adorned with jewels. She immediately knelt down reverencing her.

"Y-Your majesty! It's an honor to meet you! Forgive me! I didn't mean to look on your eyes!" The woman said speaking very fast and she didn't look up.

"Don't worry; I'm the one who tried to talk to you; besides, if I am the Empress of all China, I can allow people to look me in the eyes. Look at me, no need to worry; nothing is going to happen because it's an order."

The humble woman slowly looked up to the sovereign woman and she was reaching out to help her get up. She accepted the help The Empress offered to her, it was an unbelievable honor.

"Thank you very much, graceful Imperial majesty. If it is not bold of me to ask, why is a woman of your high level here? In the midst of ordinary people and without escorts to protect you?"

"It's not boldness to ask, I'm here because me and my three daughters, the princesses, wanted to have enjoy a day like a normal person; or almost it."

"The Emperor allowed you four to come without guards to protect you?"

"He let us go out of the Forbidden City (If you don't know, this is the name of China Imperial palace.) with a guard; his name is Xiao, Lieutenant Xiao." Empress Xanadu said while pointing to a young man dressed in an elegant armor and standing with his arms crossed.

"And… How about the princesses, where are they?"

"Look there, that three girls playing together and laughing are my precious daughters."

"Children; always so happy..."

"Hey, do you know some place I can buy candies? Women from the Imperial family are supposed to look beautiful all time, but I think I'll break this rule for one day; after all, am I the Empress or not?"

Both laughed at Empress Xanadu's comment, it was interesting to think that a woman like her had such a sense of humor and made jokes about her own life.

"Here, I have some cookies I made this morning and was planning to give them to my nephews, but of course I can give some to Your Majesty." The woman said taking four cookies from a small bag tied on her waist.

"Thank you, but I won't take it for free. Here, four coins to pay for your kindness."

"Thank you very much your Majesty, You and The Emperor are the most benevolent rulers that China ever had."

"This is our duty, protect our people and guarantee happiness to them."

Suddenly, Empress Xanadu felt that someone has bumped on her; she turned around to look who was behind her, it was a little boy who seemed like five-years-old.

"Sorry lady, I didn't mean to bump on you…"

"No problem little boy, let me help you." The Empress said as she reached out to help the child get up.

"Thanks lady." The little boy said as he got up.

Then a woman approached to the little boy, crouched down and grabbed his hand.

"Son, I told you to not run in the square because you could bump on someone, and it happened. Sorry miss, I…" The woman looked up and her eyes widened, she stood gaping; she was in front of The Empress of China! The only woman in the whole Middle Kingdom who even men bowed to her; and she looked at her eyes! And worse, her son has bump on her!

"I'm so sorry Graceful Imperial Majesty! You can give me whatever punishment you want, but please don't hurt my son!" The woman said as she bowed over, leaning her head on the floor and pushing her son down so that he too bowed over.

"Please, don't kneel in front of me; don't humble yourself that way. You both, get up, it was just an accident."

The woman and her son got up and walked away without look back; Empress Xanadu just sighed, she knew that a lot of people thought that they should treat the Imperial family of China like they were gods, when it wasn't really like that.

She looked at the woman, who she was talking with just three minutes before; she was looking at the three princesses who were playing together.

"Thanks for the cookies and for the chat, you made my day better; but now I'll give these cookies to my daughters and make a prank on my guard, Bye." The Empress said as she turned around and walked toward the princesses while giggling a little.

She went to her daughters and whistled out loud to get the girls attention.

"Hey mama, what's going on?" Su asked innocently.

"Are we going home now? Please, let's stay a bit longer." Mei said as she approached her mother and clasped her hands as if she was begging to her mother.

"Mei, Su, let mom say what she's got to talk with us." Ting-Ting said to her younger sisters putting her hands on their shoulders.

"Don't worry my precious diamonds, we're not going home now; I just came to brought you these cookies and ask you a question."

The three girls happily took the cookies and ate them quickly; their mother ate hers as well but not so fast like her daughters. After finish eating, they remembered their mother wanted to ask something to them.

"Mama, what did you want to ask us?" Ting-Ting asked to Empress Xanadu and her question made Mei and Su look at curiously at their mother.

"I had an idea that will give us more fun; do you want to make a prank on Lieutenant Xiao? It will be very funny." The Empress whispered to the three girls, she didn't say out loud because the lieutenant was close and could hear it. The princesses smiled roguishly and nodded to her mother.

They listened attentively while their mother whispered the plan to them and them four laughed softy. After all was explained, they went to Lieutenant Xiao to talk to him; but in their minds they could only imagine how angry he would be after realizing that he was deceived.

"Xiao, can you do us a favor?" Empress Xanadu asked.

"Of course your Majesty; what can I do for you?" He said as he bent with one hand on his back and the other on his chest.

"We want you to buy flowers to us, here's the money." Mei said as she approached him and handed some coins in his hand.

"I can't let you four alone in this place; I must keep my eyes on you, by order of the Emperor." He said taking the coins from Mei's hand.

"Oh, come on Sir! No one will die if you leave us for five minutes." Su said impatiently and with her hands on her waist.

"Please lieutenant; remember, your orders are to protect us but you must also obey the Empress." Ting-Ting said sarcastically and pointing her finger to the young guard's face.

"Humph… all right!" Lieutenant Xiao complained for a moment and moved her hand from his face "What kind of flowers do you want?"

"Yeeeeah!" The three princesses cried out as they jumped up with their hands up celebrating.

"Girls! You need to get so excited?" Empress Xanadu said it blinking one eye to her daughters, because their reaction could make it clear that they were playing a prank on him. They three noticed it and stopped.

"I want a big purple flower to put on my hair." Ting-Ting said pointing her finger to her head with her other hand on her waist.

"I want like three pink flowers to put on my hair too." Mei added looking to her older sister.

"And what would you like me to buy to you little golden princess?" The young military man tenderly asked Su, the youngest of the three sisters.

"I want a bouquet of like small and yellow flowers to put in a porcelain vase and spruce up my part of the room." Su said with her childish and cute voice.

"And you, my venerable and graceful Empress; what kind of flower do you want me to buy?"

"You don't need to talk like that, well; I want a bouquet of dark blue flowers. Now go, you won't last more than ten minutes to come back; obey my orders." Empress Xanadu said while pushing him with the fingertips of her left hand to the direction where she knew she had a open-sky-market where all the palace supplies were bought.

Lieutenant Xiao ran toward the way The Empress indicated to him; he had to come back quickly, he had to obey their orders, but it would be very irresponsible to leave them alone; after all he knew that if anything happened to them, he would rather be dead than face the punishment.

When the Lieutenant was already distant, the four members of the Imperial family burst out of laughing; now that they could "execute the plan", they just thought how funny it would be to see the anger on his face.

"Let's go now! There is a small grove near here; we can spend some peaceful time there, because I bet he won't find us anytime soon." The Empress excitedly said to her daughters while pointing to her left side.

They four ran to near of the limits of that city, which were demarcated by that grove. Empress Xanadu ran holding hands with Su while Ting-Ting and Mei ran holding hands as well.

The princesses and The Empress arrived at the grove's entrance and stayed there for some minutes; they sat on the grass; admired the blue sky and the figures of the clouds; felt the summer breeze and heard it wave the leaves of the trees.

"Mama, can you tell us a story?" Mei asked her mother as she approached to stand by her side.

"Of course my little pink flower." Empress Xanadu answered kindly to Mei. "Ting-Ting, Su; do you want to hear a story too?" She asked looking at them and reaching out to them as if trying to get their attention.

"Sure we want mama!" Ting-Ting said approaching to her mother "Yeah! I love when you tell stories mama!" Su said as she approached to her mother as well.

The four women of the Imperial family were sat under a tree shadow, with the three princesses excited and waiting to hear a story of their wise mother.

"Let's see…Did one of you heard about the nightingale tale?" The Empress asked leaning forward slightly to further arouse the curiosity of the girls who were with her.

The three girls shook their heads at the same time in denial; their mother just smiled and returned to upright posture.

"This story begins a long time ago in this very kingdom of China; there was a much loved Emperor across the nation, The Imperial Palace was the most beautiful of the world; visitors from all over the world went to the palace to admire the beauty of the palace's interior and exterior. One day, The Emperor was reading a poem written by one of these visitors…"

_**Some minutes before at the Imperial Town…**_

"Good afternoon sir." Lieutenant Xiao said to an old man who was with like more than a thousand of flowers to sell.

"Good afternoon honorable soldier, you came to buy some flowers, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I want the best flowers you have and nothing of a slightest quality." The Lieutenant said it in a serious tone and with his arms crossed.

"So, it must be for someone very special…"

"More than special; the three princesses and The Empress."

"Holy Ancestors! Well, what can a humble peasant like me do for them? I swear that they won't be disappointed."

"I came to buy a big purple flower, three medium pink flowers, a bouquet of small yellow flowers and a bouquet of dark blue flowers."

The old man quickly picked up the flowers the soldier was looking for and arranged all the flowers in one single bouquet to make it easier to carry.

"Here they are" the old man said as he handed the bouquet to Lieutenant Xiao "I really hope the princesses and The Empress like them."

"I bet they'll like, here, your payment." The young Lieutenant said as he handed some gold coins to the seller.

"Thank you, honorable soldier. Thank them for me."

"You're welcome; I'll do it. Now I gotta go back to watch over them, this is my work." Lieutenant Xiao answered as he turned around and ran back to the square.

Just one minute later, when he arrived at the square; He got really confused of not seeing his sovereign and her daughters, after all, the dresses they were wearing were unmistakable. But he didn't take even a minute to realize that they had played a trick on him; he got so angry that he threw the flowers on the floor.

"How stupid I was! I should have known! They managed to pull me away for a moment and run away!" The young Lieutenant said to himself while stomping his feet on the ground "Now I don't know where they are and if anything happens to them I'll be in a huge trouble!" He said almost desperate with his hands on his head "I need to find them as fast as possible!" He thought and ran back to the open-sky-market; his idea was to ask everyone if they had seen the princesses and The Empress, but every "no" he heard almost made him have syncope.

_**Meanwhile, in the grove near the city…**_

"…And since that day; the small bird, the nightingale, told the Emperor everything that happened in his kingdom and sang to him every day." The Empress said, finishing telling the story to her daughters.

"This story is so beautiful…" Mei spoke very calmly, her eyes half open and her hands holding her face "I didn't know that a bird's song could save someone's life!" She said as she suddenly got very excited.

"It wasn't the nightingale's song that saved the Emperor…" Ting-Ting said to Mei, which frowned and crossed her arms at the comment her older sister made. "…It was the friendship between them and the nightingale's loyalty." Ting-Ting added smiling and approaching to Mei, leaning her shoulder on Mei's; which smiled, seeing that her sister wasn't taking it seriously.

"Mama; does the nightingale exist?" Su asked her mother as she approached to her.

"Well; look up, what do you think?" Empress Xanadu said with her eyes closed and pointing up to the tree branches, which shadows contrasted with the sunlight. Among the leaves and branches was a small brown bird with a green glow in the feathers.

The three sisters looked up and grinned at the sight of the little bird of the story; suddenly, the bird started singing the most beautiful melody they ever heard; now they knew why this bird's song saved The Emperor's life in the story. The Empress was admiring the melody as well but she wasn't surprised at all of the magnificent song; she'd already heard it.

Suddenly, the nightingale stopped singing and flied away, and the other birds flied away too. Empress Xanadu looked up confused; same did Ting-Ting, Mei and Su. They saw two human figures among the branches they could not exactly tell what they looked like, because of the leaf shadows; but it was obvious that they were men.

The Empress, who already had a lot of life experience, noticed that they were planning to attack by surprise. So she leaned forward to approach to her daughters with a very worried and serious expression on her face; the three princesses noticed something was wrong and leaned forward to hear what their mother got to say.

"You three, heed what I'll say!" Empress Xanadu whispered to her daughters, who were so close to her that they were almost hugging each other "When I get up, you'll get up, you won't say anything and we'll leave without looking back as if we have seen nothing. Did you understand?" She whispered in a very serious tone.

The Empress got up and same did the princesses; but as soon as they got up, both of the men quickly came down from the tree jumping from branch to branch as if they were cats, because they had an unbelievable agility. As soon as they stepped on the floor, they got up and stood still looking at Empress Xanadu and her daughters. The middle-aged woman stood still and her eyes widened; one of the mans was very tall and strong, the other had a normal height and was wearing a gray cape but was very strong too; they were wearing gray clothes with black assets and dark brown boots, which made clear they were not from China because the hanfu clothes are pretty different from the ones they were wearing. Besides that; they had pale and slightly gray skin, typical of people who live in a cold place and both wielded long swords with twisted blades.

"Huns…" The Empress muttered, shaking with fear; anyone who had the least amount of knowledge about this nomadic people, knew that they'd kill innocent people without a second thought. The princesses were startled too, but because of how those men looked threatening; they haven't heard about the Huns, so if those men looked like normal people, they wouldn't get startled.

"They are so scary mom, are they thieves?" Su whispered to her mother.

"No dear, they're much worse than that…" Empress Xanadu whispered to her daughter, but this just made the three sisters get even more scared, and the men heard that and grinned devilish.

"What a beautiful surprise, The Empress and The Princesses out of the palace…" Said the huge man.

"…And without any guard to escort them. Do you know this is very reckless?" The other man added.

"I know…" It was all Empress Xanadu thought regretted, and this resonated inside her head. "What do you want? Do you want my jewels? If you want, you can have it; just let me and my daughters alone."

"We came here to comply with orders…" Said the medium-height-man.

"…And we're not going back until we've fulfilled it." The huge man added as he raised his sword and pointed to the four Imperial women.

The three girls made an expression of dread and almost freaked out, but before they could, their mother hugged the three princesses at the same time.

"NOR IN THE HELL YOU'LL TOUCH MY DAUGHTERS!" The Empress cried out to the Huns with a very angry expression on her face, she no longer was scared, now she was furious.

"What are you going to do about it?" The huge man asked sarcastically to her as him and his friend started approaching to the three princesses and Empress Xanadu.

"Do you think you can stop us?" The medium-height-man asked The Empress as he and his friend kept approaching to her and her daughters. Before she could even think of an answer, she heard the sound of salvation.

"Maybe she can't; but I can!" They heard a male voice which spoke confidently. They all looked to the left and saw a tall man who was about ten meters away. He was wearing an elegant armor with a long red-bright-cape waving in the breeze and a helmet on his head. His gaze was very intimidating, but the two-Huns-warriors just seemed surprise, not startled. "Don't touch The Empress neither the princesses!" The young soldier said as he unsheathed the sword.

"Lieutenant Xiao!" Empress Xanadu and The three princesses said excitedly at the same time.

"GIRLS, RUN! NOW!" The Empress cried out to her daughters; Ting-Ting, Mei and Su obeyed to her mother and ran away as fast as they could; in seconds they went into the forest and the men lost sight of them.

Suddenly; the huge man run toward The Empress and grabbed her by her arms lifting her off the floor; the man started laughing hysterically and this terrified Empress Xanadu. "AAAHHHH!" She screamed, now she felt the fear until to the depths of her soul.

"LET HER GO OR YOU'LL REGRET IT BITTERLY!" Lieutenant cried out as he ran at full speed toward the Hun who was holding The Empress which was crying, with one of his hands.

The medium-height-man stepped in front and used his twisted-blade-sword to block the attack. Then this Hun and Lieutenant Xiao started a sword fight in front of The Empress and the other Hun; which was no longer lifting her out of the ground, but holding her arms behind her back with one of his hands and covering her mouth with the other hand.

"So this is how it is a fight with swords and martial arts techniques?" Empress Xanadu thought while seeing the young lieutenant and a Hun-warrior fighting aggressively. "What I imagined was not even close to be like this! This is even worse!" She thought as she saw the Hun trying to strike Xiao with a sword; but he jumped really high and kicked the Hun in the face.

The blow was so strong that the man passed out. "RELEASE HER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!" The lieutenant cried out as he ran with his sword in hand toward the Hun, which was holding the Empress.

Suddenly, he dropped his sword and put his hand on his chest groaning in pain. He fell on his knees and collapsed on the floor, revealing he had been hit in the back by an arrow.

He was without signs of life. Empress Xanadu looked at the Hun that was "unconscious" and he was still lying on the ground but he was pretty conscious, with a devilish gaze and with a bow in his hand. He just pretended! He was hiding a bow and arrows under his cape.

"Wretched…" She thought filled in anger; but then, the man who was holding her put her over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here! Those little girls will come back with Imperial guards sooner or later!" He said to his friend which was getting up.

"We will receive a great reward for this achievement! Quon Yu (later it will be revealed who he is) will be very thankful with us!" Said the man with the bow as he and his friend which was with The Empress over his shoulder ran at full speed through the forest.

"Quon Yu?! You're going to bring me to your leader?!" Empress Xanadu asked in fear, she couldn't look at them because her waist was over the Hun's shoulder and she was almost upside down.

"Of course not 'your highness'; we'll just report your death to him! Put an end to the Emperor's wife will be our greatest honor!" The huge man who was holding The Empress said sadistically; speaking and laughing at the same time, while he and his friends kept running through the forest.

Empress Xanadu was in shock; she didn't scream, didn't speak, and didn't even move. Her eyes widened and she stood speechless, seconds later she squeezed her eyes shut, making tears fall down. As if she had accepted that she would die and there was nothing she could do to prevent.

Then; they stopped running and the huge man who was holding The Empress, without any "delicacy" threw her on the floor. She gave small groan in pain but didn't get up, she just stayed lay on her stomach and with the side of her head against the floor; she looked at them out of the corner of her eye, without raising her head.

The archer grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a tree; this time she tried to quickly get up but the huge man of that duo of Huns prevented her, pressing her against the tree with one hand; holding her by the neck while she gritted her teeth and looked at them with a gaze that mixed anger and fear.

"Let's take off her jewels and finish carry out our orders, we must return to the north as soon as possible." The archer Hun said taking a bag that was hidden under his cape.

Then Empress Xanadu saw the Huns approaching to her and their shadows growing over her as her eyes widened and her hands shaking; she was feeling fear running all over her body down to the last hair string, this was going to be his death traced by fate. She closed her eyes and heard the laughter of that duo of men.

_**Hours later, at the surroundings of that forest…**_

"Empress Dim Xanadu!" A short-young-soldier cried out calling The Empress by her name, hoping she would answer.

"Empress Dim Xanadu!" other soldier cried out, and another and another! More than twenty soldiers and imperial guards were searching for The Empress at that forest under the command of General Li.

He was sitting on the floor next to the corpse of his friend Lieutenant Xiao; which now was covered with a blanket with only the head without covering and lying on a stretcher.

General Li was with a serious expression on his face that also showed sadness for the loss of his friend, but he did not want to show weakness in front of his men, because of the reason they were in that place; they were there to find The Empress, dead or alive.

He looked around and saw his men calling Empress Xanadu, but without go into the forest. He slapped his forehead and sighed, wouldn't they do anything unless he ordered them to?

General Li got up and walked over to where most of his men were. "Soldiers!" He cried out to get their attention; the soldiers and the guards stopped what they were doing to pay attention to their commanding officer. "I want you all to go into the forest and search until you find the Empress; even if it takes all night!" General Li ordered to his men. "Yes sir!" All the men in that place answered but didn't move. "What are you waiting for?! Go! Now!" He cried out with an annoyed expression on his face, he was calm and peaceful most of time but had to be strict with his soldiers, sooner or later their skills would be put to the test. The men ran in different directions to go into the forest, so it would be easier and faster to find Empress Xanadu.

He went into the forest too, hoping to find The Empress or at least some clues that could guide him to where she was.

After some minutes walking, General Li saw a small piece of gray fabric stuck to the low part of a bush and took it to examine; the fabric wasn't made of cotton neither silk, it was very thick and rough, it would only be used by people who live in cold places or in winter of that part of China.

"Miserable Huns..." He muttered as he threw the piece of fabric on the floor. "We are very close to find those damn, and when we find them, they will be punished with death!" General Li said to himself as he got up and went back to walk.

"But this is weird; normally they would kill their victims in the place they were, and if The Empress wasn't where she and the princesses had saw the Huns, this means they kidnapped her; but this is not something they use to do." He whispered thoughtful to himself while he walked through the forest.

Suddenly; he stumbled on a hole and almost fell. When he looked down, General Li saw recent footprints on the floor and bent down to look them closer; these footprints left on the floor were deep and wide. "Whoever left those footprints, passed running by this trail, and are too many footprints for only one person to have left; no… Definitely is the clue to find that duo of Huns and The Empress!" General Li said out loud and got up, he ran through that trail following those footprints, hopeful that he would find the Empress and bring her back safe and sound to the palace.

However, after turning a curve on that trail, what he saw almost made his heart stop.

Empress Xanadu, was lying on her side on the floor, her back to him, barefoot, with her gray hair hanging loose on the floor, she was motionless under a tree in a dark night.

"Your majesty!" General Li cried out as he ran toward his sovereign, he knelt down and put her head on his lap, she was cold, her lips were pale, and looked like she wasn't breathing. "Your majesty, please answer!" He begged as put one of his ears on her chest trying to hear her heartbeat and lightly pressing her wrist with your fingers trying to feel the pulse.

But he heard nothing and felt nothing, the worse happened: The Empress was dead. General Li pulled his head away from his chest but stayed with his head down, was a huge loss for the whole middle kingdom.

Suddenly he heard someone approaching, he thought it were the Huns but was a young Imperial guard, that stood agape at the sight of Empress Xanadu, dead on his commanding officer's arms. The guard approached to the corpse of his sovereign, knelt down and bowed his head.

They stayed silent for few minutes till the young guard tried to speak with General Li. "I know they killed her and stole her jewels, but how Sir? She seems to be unharmed."

"You said right, she 'seems' to be unharmed. But she is not. Look at her neck; they squeezed her neck until she died suffocated." General Li said as he pointed at two marks on Empress Xanadu's neck.

"The Huns are monsters…" General Li said to his soldier. He took The Empress's body in his arms and got up. "Go and call the others, and say that I ordered to everyone go back at the entrance to the forest, they will not believe this happened if they don't see with their own eyes." He ordered to his soldier as he walked away without look back.

"Yes Sir!" The young guard answered to his commanding officer, turned around and walked away to call his comrades.

"We couldn't save you from the death in those Huns's hands your highness; but I swear that one day the Huns will be defeated and the deaths of everyone they killed will be avenged." General Li whispered as he kept walking with his head down.

_**Two days later, at the nightfall…**_

The Sun had just sat and everyone were in their homes, The Emperor decreed that the entire middle kingdom would be in mourning for a week, for the death of its sovereign.

The Empress's funeral, that was made the previous day, was simple and reserved only for the Imperial family and the noblest people in the kingdom, this included the presence of General Li and his son; Li Shang.

_Flashback._

_Shang and his father went to the Imperial Palace to attend The Empress's funeral, it was the first time Shang had the opportunity to see The Emperor and the princesses. The three sisters; Ting-Ting, Mei and Su were crying a lot, Hugging each other and trying to console each other for the loss of their mother; at some moments was possible to see tears falling down from The Emperor's eyes too. _

_Shang felt the sadness of those people as if it were his, especially the sadness of the three princesses, after all; he had lost his mother the previous year and so he put himself in the place of that family that was suffering._

_During the Emperor's speech to remember everything good that happened during the regiment of the Empress, who had died the day before, everyone could see the body of the Empress lying on a coffin made of gold. Her body was dressed in a beautiful dress of brilliant blue silk, her favorite color. Her beautiful gray hair was carefully arranged in a hairstyle worthy of a sovereign and adorned with a large and beautiful gold crown adorned with many jewels. Her lifeless body was adorned with many jewels; in her fingers she had beautiful rings, her neck was adorned with a necklace made with very large jewels and she was wearing pearls earrings._

_After that ceremony all the guests left the Imperial Palace; The Empress's burial would be reserved only for the Imperial family. _

_All the way home, Shang was thinking about the Empress' death being in the hands of the Huns. "Why did they kill her? If it were for the jewelry she was wearing they could have simply stolen and ran away." That's what went through his mind the twelve-years-old boy; he was distracted and didn't even talk to his father, who was sitting next to him, inside that carriage you could only hear the sound of breathing._

"_Is something bothering you son?" General Li asked to Shang._

"_It's nothing dad, I was thinking about how today is a very sad day to everyone." He answered to his father; this was not the best time to ask questions about the Huns._

"_Sure is son; The Empress was beloved by whole kingdom, but especially by her family."_

"_Later I will ask my father about these Huns." Shang thought as he turned his head toward the small window of the carriage._

_End Flashback._

Shang was looking at the horizon with a the dark blue sky of the night, through his bedroom window; feeling the breeze waving his hair, seeing how all the people who lived in the houses next to his were also melancholy for the death of their sovereign.

He went down the stairs and went to the dining room to talk to his father and Jia, who was sitting next to him at the table; she also looked a bit sad.

"Hello Jia…" Shang said as he sat at the table.

"Hello young master…" Jia answered as she toke one of the three cups on the table and put some tea in it. "Do you was studying in your room? We didn't hear any noise." She said as she handed the cup with tea to Shang.

"Actually I was looking through the window of my room, I was thinking about what happened to The Empress." Shang answered with his head down and holding his cup of tea with both his hands. "Father; I have a question that does not leave my head, and I think you can answer me since you are one of the Generals." He said to General Li as he looked to him.

"If I know the answer I won't mind answering your question son. What's your doubt?" General Li said as he looked to Shang.

"You said that a duo of Huns were the ones who killed the Empress and stole her jewels, but why did they do that? I know they're known to steal people wherever they go, but they could have just stolen her jewelry and run away; they didn't need to kill her." Shang asked in an imposing voice to his father, but the words that came out from his mouth made General Li's and Jia's eyes wide in astonishment; they looked at each other for a moment, implying that something was very wrong.

"Dear young master, I don't thin-" Jia tried to say something to Shang. "No Jia, he's turning into a man, he needs to know the truth about the Huns, even if it's tough to deal with." General Li said interrupting her sentence.

"I comprehend Sir…" Jia said with her head down and with her eyes closed.

"Jia, if you don't mind, I would like you to leave me alone with my son to answer his question." General Li said with his calm and deep voice to his maid.

"As you wish my Lord…" The fifty-year-old woman answered as she got up from the table and went upstairs to leave General Li and Shang alone.

Shang now was very worried; his father was very calm all the time, when he seemed concerned, it was certain that something was really wrong.

"Father; tell me what I need to know, as you said, I'm turning into a man."

"Shang; the Huns are very cruel, they're like demons on earth, they kill anyone who appears in front of them and feel no remorse for it. And they didn't kill The Empress just to steal her jewels; the Huns are China's declared enemies for over a hundred years…"

"So does that mean they killed The Empress because that would be an honor for them?"

"Exactly; But that's not the worst." General Li said with his head down..

"What could be worse than this people formed by a bunch of assassins being the enemy of our country?" Shang asked

"They are responsible for the deaths of women and girls that have been going on for a long time. They are the ones who send men and women to kill preferably women, but they kill anyone who tries to stop them." General Li said with an irritated and at the same time sad tone of voice; when he looked at his son, Shang was with a shocked expression on his face, his eyes were widened, he seemed to be looking forward but he wasn't even blinking. Shang finally got it: His mother's death was because of the Huns.

"Shang; are you okay?" General Li asked to his son, expecting that he would burst into tears, but suddenly his facial expression changed to utter rage.

"MISERABLE HUNS!" Shang cried out completely furious as he got up and punched the table with all his might and fury; so much fury that it left a crack on the table where his hand hit.

It was so impressive that General Li was startled, it was the first time that he saw his son dominated with anger, and mainly, he saw the enormous potential of his son who was becoming a man; Shang even spoke with a deeper voice than normal, the anger sparked this in him.

"Why do they kill people on our country?! Why?! Answer me!" Shang cried out asking his father, still speaking with a deeper voice than normal, and punching the table again, but this time didn't left a crack on the table.

"We don't know! They've been killing women for a long time, but we don't know what the purpose is. If they were killing men it would be easy to understand, they would be weakening our nation little by little; but they've been killing women for many years, so we have no idea what they plan."

General Li said to very loud his son, because even his patience has an end, but he was trying to calm his son, he didn't want Shang to do anything crazy.

But suddenly, Shang got out from the table and ran out of the house. "Shang! Wait! Where are you going?!" General Li cried out very worried as he tried to run after him, but he was almost fourth-years-old; and his son was twelve-years-old, so he wasn't as fast as Shang.

Shang ran through that house's huge garden as fast as a lightning, passed over the bridge over a lake that reflected his image when he passed over it and ran to the part of the garden behind that big red house.

His father ran after him as fast as he could and when he looked at Shang, he was entering the family's temple with his head down. Now General Li understood what his son was thinking, and followed him very silently, so Shang wouldn't notice he was right behind him. The twelve-year-old boy knelt down, joined his hands in front of the face in prayer position and closed his eyes.

General Li stood at the family's temple entrance, watching his son pray but without saying anything. The boy lifted his head but didn't get up. "I know you're behind me father…" Shang said very calm but his voice kept deeper than normal, it was clear it have changed.

He got up and looked at his father who was just a few inches taller than him; Shang was with a very serious expression on his face (that face expression of his that everyone remembers). His father was with a worried and a bit sad expression on his face; now was clear that Shang was no longer a boy and was almost completely a man.

General Li hated seeing that his son, his little boy, had grown up, but he couldn't stop the time; his duty now was to turn his son into the warrior the destiny wrote he should be.

"I'll be the greatest warrior I can be! I'll protect ever woman and every girl my eyes can see! And mainly; I'll revenge everyone who died at those miserable Huns's hands." Shang said very proudly to his father.

General Li smiled and hugged his son tightly. "I'll help you in this path to reach your goal." He said very calmly. Shang hugged his father returning his hug; while he grinned a little and felt tears streaming down when he closed his eyes.

He had changed, no longer was that boy that was always smiling; instead, he would feel really happy just three years later.

_End of chapter_

_Sorry for the delay to post the fourth chapter, I was traveling a few days ago and because of this it took me a while to finish writing this chapter but here it is, I hope you've enjoyed._

_Stay tuned for the next chapter, I will try to publish as soon as possible._

_Author's note: My classes will be back in a few days and so it will take me a while to publish the next chapters, but I will not leave this story without an epic ending. I promise!_


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